Friday, July 24, 2015

When Piety becomes Worthless in the Eyes of God

It is commonly taught that the Second Temple was destroyed
because of baseless hatred. Less talked about is the First Temple, which is
surprising. Surprising, because the precursor to its destruction is well
documented; because the First Temple was still the era of prophecy. Prophecies
in which God speaks in His own words about the problems of the day that had
ruined society.

We are told that each generation that does not see the
Temple rebuilt has participated in it’s destruction. This is harsh, but
logical. It means that were such a generation to have a Temple, its deeds would
eventually lead to its destruction. We are part of the problem if we cannot
develop and maintain a society that is morally and ethically upright.

The Shabbos before Tisha b’Av is Parshas Dvarim, known as
Shabbos Chazon – named for the opening words of the Haftora, Chazon Yishaya,
extracted here:

“Listen to Hashem, you leaders of Sodom. Listen to the law
of our God, people of Gomorrah!”

“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?”, says
Hashem. “I am stuffed from your burnt offerings and sacrifices of rams and the
fat of cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls, lambs and goats. When
you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your
ceremony? Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your
offerings disgusts me!

“Your celebrations of Rosh Chodesh and Shabbos and your fast
days, are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings! I hate
your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me.
I cannot stand them! When you raise your hands in prayer, I will not look.
Though you might offer many prayers, I will not listen, because your hands are
covered with the blood of innocents!

“Wash yourselves and become clean! Get your sins out of my
sight. Give up your evil ways; learn to do good. Seek justice! Help the
oppressed and vulnerable! Defend the cause of orphans! Fight for the rights of
widows!” – (1:10-17)

There were many prophets whose stories did not make the
canon of Tanach; the ones that were included were selected because of their
resonance beyond their time.

The prophet goes on to mention corrupt leadership and
bribery. It is impossible to rid society of evil completely; even in the most
ideal world, there would still be a justice system. This is a recognition of
human choice and error. But this is when a society is challenged; when evil
rears it’s ugly head, how do we respond? It ought to be forcefully and
definitively dealt with.

This is why perversion of justice may be the ultimate crime.
If a society is too corrupt and broken to protect it’s citizens, people are
trodden on without ramification. That society, in a subtle, but substantial
way, endorses and protects criminals and predators. If only lone individuals
care, the society as a whole is morally bankrupt. Where is the compassion?

How many of our vulnerable people are unprotected? Every
year there is another scandal, another cover up, another aguna, another molester,
another abuser. When our institutions and leaders fail to remove criminals or
call them out for what they are, it is a betrayal, at your expense. We are not
a community if we do not protect and ease the burdens of our brothers and
sisters. There is grave injustice when individuals proven dangerous beyond
reasonable doubt are allowed to retain influence. That this could be a veiled
reference to any one of numerous incidents says a lot about where we are.

A generation that does not see the Temple rebuilt has
participated in it’s destruction. The prophet’s words echo, and it is
chilling.

Don’t misunderstand this. This is not a polemic against our
leaders. This is a call to action directly to you. Don’t rely on other people
for a job you could and should be taking on. We need you.

We have much to be proud of today, but make no mistake; we
cannot launder or buy off mediocrity in one area with excellence in another.
The people of that time were diligent and meticulous in their prayer and
sacrifice, yet so awful at other things. The amount and scale of Torah study
and charity in the world today is phenomenal, and unprecedented in history. But
how much is it really worth if we do not act like God’s ambassadors on this
world? In the words of Chazon:

לָמָּה-לִּירֹב-זִבְחֵיכֶםיֹאמַרהשָׂבַעְתִּיעֹלוֹתאֵילִיםוְחֵלֶבמְרִיאִיםוְדַםפָּרִיםוּכְבָשִׂיםוְעַתּוּדִיםלֹאחָפָצְתִּי – “I am stuffed from your burnt
offerings and sacrifices of rams and the fat of cattle. I get no pleasure from
the blood of bulls, lambs and goats!” (1:11)

The lessons we ought to learn from history knock on our
door, repeatedly, louder and louder. In Moshe’s parting address to the people
he spent his life trying to save, he says to them:

אֲדַבֵּראֲלֵיכֶםוְלֹאשְׁמַעְתֶּם – “I spoke; yet you would not listen!”
(1:43)

We see problems around us, and we do not fix enough of them.
Praying more, with greater intensity, is not the solution that these problems
require. We just need to fix them! If we had a Temple today, we would lose it;
otherwise it would be here. How can we fast, weep, and pray when there are so
many poor, hungry, abused, and other vulnerable people around us? Is it
something to be proud of that we are in dire need of so many excellent
charities and outstanding individuals? Such individuals and organisations lead
the way for the rest of – but they do not remove our own obligations.

It is so easy to make that difference; resolve to be better,
in a real, substantial, accountable way.

Volunteer more. Give more charity. Give food and clothes
away. Make sure no child is left without a school. Participate in your
community. Use any influence you have, talk to influential people, and make
that difference. Even if it’s just you alone. Take responsibility for the
people around you, who don’t yet know that you are someone they can rely on to
help them.

Our enemies label us as cruel; but they could not call us
cruel, unless on some level, we are also cruel to our own. In 2014, several
rogue Jews killed an innocent teen; something unheard of. While there was a
unanimous and loud global outcry from our communities, something about the way
we educate and raise young people generated that grotesque tragedy. They killed
a person, another human being, who was so “other” in their minds that it did
not matter that he was innocent. And we all think that way to some extent.

So read Chazon. Because it reads like it was written
especially for us. If it’s too hard to motivate yourself to cry for what
happened long ago, then cry for now; for how far we are from where we are meant
to be, for the agony in our communities. Cry for the all the injustice around
you that you can’t seem to do anything about; tears that burn. I know I
will.

צִיּוֹןבְּמִשְׁפָּטתִּפָּדֶהוְשָׁבֶיהָבִּצְדָקָה – “Zion will be
redeemed through justice; it’s restoration will be through righteousness.”
(1:27)Netanel Gertner sends out a weekly email with
Divrei Torah. He can be reached at nathan.gertner@gmail.com

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.